


A Brewing Storm

by CordateFallout



Category: Life Is Strange (Video Game), Life Is Strange: Before The Storm
Genre: F/F, F/M, Inspired by Life Is Strange, Life Is Strange Spoilers, Life Is Strange: Before The Storm Spoilers, Multi, Other, Pre-Life Is Strange
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-05-06
Updated: 2018-12-08
Packaged: 2019-05-02 23:15:35
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 10,130
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14555676
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CordateFallout/pseuds/CordateFallout
Summary: Meeting Rachel Amber brought excitement and hope into your life.Meeting Chloe Price accentuated your rebellious sides.Meeting Nathan, everything was different.But meeting Max, everything went to hell.





	1. one

The lighthouse. That’s the only thing you’re excited about. You and your dad are moving to Arcadia Bay because his mom died, and you guys inherited the house- a paid off house is one less bill to worry about and honestly you didn’t have a say so you opted to find something to look forward to and that was the lighthouse. “Your mother and I spent a lot of time there.” Your dad boasted eagerly while handing you a photo of the two of them in front of it, to which you could only smile, “I’m sure that was a riot.” You mumbled, packing up the photo into a box. He frowned slightly, and you looked away, continuing with your packing.  
Now here you were, in front of your new school. You smile at the office ladies, whispering a “Thanks” as they hand your schedule over to you. “Now, if you wait a few minutes, our office assistant will be back and will show you to your class.” The red headed woman smiles and motions for you to take a seat, you do. You read over your schedule, Science, math, social studies, English, art, math. Your English class takes up two periods, causing you to sigh. After a few minutes, a girl with blonde hair walks in and smiles when she sees you, “Lily, will you show (Name) her locker and where her classes are, please?” The redheaded office lady smiles kindly at the girl, Lily. She nods, “Of course, come on.” She nods her head toward the door, motioning for you to follow, which you do. “I’m Lily.” The girl introduces as you step out of the office, you smirk slightly and nod, “I heard. (Name).” She smiles snatches your schedule out of your hand, “I’ll show you each room in order then take you to your first class,” She stops and checks her watch, “Maybe second, depending on what time it is when we finish.” She says, leading you in the direction of your first class of the day.  
After Lily showed you where all your classes were, she took you to your first class and introduced you before leaving, you found out she’s two years older than you so you probably won’t see her again, which was a little disheartening since she was the closest thing to a friend you had here. Now, sitting in English, you look around the room, class starts in a few minutes and this is the class where you have your lunch break. You frown, wondering if anyone will want to sit with you, people have been talking to you, but only out of curiosity since you’re new, not out of interest to be friends. You sigh as the bell rings, signalling the start of class, your teacher introduces you to the class before diving right into the work.  
A frown adorns your face as you walk into the cafeteria, alone, everyone else was running to meet up with their friends and since you had failed at making any the only hope you really had was that maybe Lily had your lunch and would invite you to sit with her. Rather than finding Lily, someone else approaches you. A girl with light hair and a charming smile. “Hey, you’re new right? All the sixth graders are buzzing about a new kid, I’m Rachel.” She sticks her hand out to you, you crack a smile and shake her hand, “I’m (Name), and yeah, I’m the newbie.” You shrug a shoulder, Rachel’s smile grows and instead of letting go of your hand, she pulls you along behind her, “Come on, you can sit with me!” She eagerly pulls you to the line to get food. Your smile only grows, the girl’s eagerness rubbing off on you. “I’m a year older than you,” she says as you get in line, “So we won’t have any classes together, but if you want, we can still hang out.” She smiles at you over her shoulder. You nod, “Yeah, that’d be awesome!” You bounce a bit, something about Rachel made you happy and, well you’re not quite sure what this other feeling is. “We can sit together everyday at lunch, too.” She adds, turning to face you with a smirk, “Just in case you thought you could get rid of me.” She giggles, you shake your head, “I wouldn’t want to, nobody else wants to be my friend.” She frowns slightly before smiling again and throwing an arm around your shoulder, “Don’t worry about those losers, you have me now!” She gives you a slight squeeze and you chuckle, you’re definitely confused as to why she’s so friendly with you but you don’t mind, you like having someone to call a friend.  
“(Name).” You glance up from your book, smiling at the sight of Rachel, “Yeah?” You ask. “Can I come over to your house?” She asks, your brow furrows and you shrug, “I actually have to ask my dad but, I don’t know what he’ll say, we still have to unpack.” You feel guilty as soon as the words leave your mouth because she immediately frowns. You open your mouth to speak but smile a bit as you see your dad’s car pull up, “One second.” You hop up and run over to the car, throwing the door open, “Woah, tiger, gentle.” He chuckles, you sheepishly chuckle and shake your head, apologizing quickly. “Can my friend Rachel come over?” You ask causing his eyebrows to flick up, “Already? I don’t know, our house isn’t exactly presentable.” He places a finger to his chin, thoughtfully. You put your hands together and stick your bottom lip out, “Please, dad?” You beg, he smiles widely. “Of course, kid. Do you still want to stop by the lighthouse?” He asks, you nod, excited. “Yeah! We’ll bring her along.” You run off, almost crashing into Rachel as you approach her. “He said yes, come on!” You grab her hand, pulling her along to the car. “We’re going to hang out at the lighthouse for a little while, hope you don’t mind.” You add, opening the car door for her, she smiles and shakes her head. “It’ll be fun.” You slide in after her, smiling as your dad turns in his seat, “Rachel, this is my dad, dad this is Rachel.” You smile fondly at the girl, causing your dad to smirk. “Nice to meet you Rachel.” He waves, she smiles and nods, “You too, Mr. (LastName).” He waves her off, turning back around and beginning to drive off, “Call me (Dad’sName).” She nods, “Noted.” She turns her attention to you, a soft smile gracing her features, “How was your first day?” She asks, you shrug, “The only interesting thing was meeting you.” You answer, honestly, causing her smile to widen. “Oh? Well, hopefully that never changes, I’ll always be the most interesting part of your day.” She winks. You smirk and hold your pinky out to her, “Pinky promise?” You giggle as she wraps her pinky around yours. “Pinky promise.” She concurs. You look forward as your dad speaks, “Rachel, wanna choose a CD?” He asks, Rachel smiles eagerly and quickly opens her backpack, pulling one out. “Never know when you’ll need it.” She says, handing it to your dad who plays it, the drive is silent apart from the music playing, Bigger Boys and Stolen Sweethearts. Your smile widens as the car comes to a stop, only to be wiped off as you realize your dad pulled up to a diner, “We’ll get some food to go and eat at the lighthouse.” He promises, seeing your pouting face. Rachel chuckles and pinches your cheek, “Come on, picnics are fun!” She hops out of the car, you following behind. Your dad holds the door open for the two of you, a small smile on his lips as he watches you two run to sit down on the right side, second to last booth. “Here, (Name).” Rachel sits down, moving close to the wall and patting the seat beside her, you hop in and look around. “So Rachel, do your parents know you’re here?” Your dad asks, taking the seat across from the two of you, Rachel’s smile doesn’t falter as she nods, “Of course. Well, I called and left a message so dad’ll probably see it later. My parents won’t be worried, don’t worry.” She smiles. Your waitress then approaches the table handing out three menus, “Hey, welcome to the Two Whales diner, I’m your waitress Joyce, can I get you started with something to drink?” You smile up at the blonde woman, “Hi, can I have a (drink you like)?” She nods, writing it down, you focus on the menu as your dad gets a coke and Rachel gets an sprite. “I’ll be right back with those,” Joyce smiles kindly, scurrying off.  
You smile, feeling giddy as your dad leads you and Rachel up a path, closer and closer to the lighthouse, in his hand is your bag of food and you’re each holding your drinks. Finally, you three come to a stop at a bench, a few feet from the lighthouse. You smile slightly at the bench, there’s a photo of your dad and mom sitting on it, together, somewhere packed away at home. “Picnic time.” Your dad cheers, placing the food on the bench and sitting down in front of it, you and Rachel following his lead, “Now, how did you two meet?” He asks, handing out the food. “Rachel just walked up to me during lunch, I guess she felt bad since I didn’t have anyone to sit with.” You smile, taking a bite of your food, Rachel chuckles. “I was walking with my friends, heading to the lunch line and I saw you, frowning. I felt bad, assuming you were the new kid and decided to be nice. I remember when I first moved here, I’m actually from California.” Rachel goes on a tangent, lifting her right hand to show off a blue bracelet. “California? Wow, why’d you guys move here?” Your dad asks, Rachel shrugs. “Work.” Her answer is simple, as though she’s brushing the topic off. “My grandma died.” You pipe up, “Oh, I’m sorry.” Rachel’s eyes widen slightly as she frowns. “That’s why we moved here, we inherited her house.” You explain further, looking down sheepishly. Rachel nods in understanding. You all sit there, eating and talking, it’s nice. It feels like it’s the beginning, you’re not sure what of, but you can feel it, something about Rachel is special, something between you two is special. You smile at the thought as Rachel hops up, pulling you along with her and taking you closer to the lighthouse, around to the other side where the door was. Quickly she pulls out a sharpie and writes on the door. “R and (N). 2005.” You read as she writes it out, “This is the first time we’ve ever hung out, one day I’ll take you to the top up there, just us two.” She promises with a smile. You smile back and nod, taking the sharpie from her and adding a smiley face under what she had written and a heart to the side of it. “Now we both tagged it.” You offer a cheeky smile, causing Rachel to chuckle. “I’m glad I met you.” You say, earnestly, she smiles in response. “I’m glad too, good thing I approached ya.” She laughs, grabbing your hand once more, “Let’s go to your house now, yeah?” She asks, excitedly as you both go back to your dad who had just finished cleaning up after you guys. “Ready to go home?” He asks, you both nod and he smiles, leading the way back.


	2. two

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The last chapter took place in 2005, it's now 2008. You and Rachel have been friends for three years, these first few chapters will be skipping through time a bit, setting a foundation for you and the other characters.  
> Enjoy~

A yawn escapes your lips as you make your way to your front door, calling out a “One second.” As you get closer, as soon as you open the door, Rachel runs in. “(Name)! I got my letter to Blackwell, I wanted to open it with you!” She was bouncing with excitement, causing a large smile to overtake your features before it falls, morphing into a look of confusion instead. “Rachel, did you walk here?” You ask, worried. She rolls her eyes, “I took the bus and then run over from the stop.” Your eyes widen, “That’s like five blocks?” You sigh, grabbing her hand and taking her to your kitchen to get some water. “(Name).” She whines as you motion for her to remove her sweater, she does and sits at your table, envelope still clenched in her hand. When you hand her the cup of water, she chugs it, slamming the cup onto the table once it’s done before hopping back up. “Let’s open it!” She says, about to rip it open when you stop her, “Wait, I want to get a picture of this!” You giggle at her as she rolls her eyes. “Fine, but hurry! I can’t wait any longer.” You run off, going upstairs to your room, laughing as you hear Rachel shout after you, “You have til the count of 10! 1, 2.” You quickly grab your Polaroid, one of the things left in the house by your grandma, and run back out, sliding to a stop and almost falling in the process. “Now?” Rachel asks, finger already beginning to lift at the seal, you nod enthusiastically, causing her to rip it open and yank out the paper inside. You quickly lift your camera, focusing on her face, snapping the shot as a wide grin breaks out across her features- her eyes crinkling and her nose scrunching up. You grab the picture, shake it a bit and set it down on the table along with your camera, quickly running up to hug Rachel as she squeals in excitement, “I got in!” She says, wrapping her arms around your shoulders in a hug. “I’m so proud of you!” You say, arms around her waist. “Can you believe it? Blackwell.” She sighs, content. You nod, “Rach, you’re like perfect, they’d be stupid to deny you.” You chuckle as she shrugs, “All in a day's work.” She says, releasing you and taking a bow. “Next year when you get in, maybe our dorms will be across from each other!” She says, enthusiastically. “I hope so!” You respond. “Hey, do you wanna stay for dinner?” You ask as Rachel saunters over to the picture you took of her, a small smile forming. “Yeah.” She answers, turning to face you. “So, what, you specialize in the arts?” She jokes, causing you to roll your eyes, “Ha. Ha.” You fake laugh. “I’m serious! Drawing, photography, theatre, is there nothing you can’t do?” She walks over to one of your counters and hops, placing her elbows on her thighs and her chin in her hands. You shrug, “I suck at chemistry.” You pipe up, knowing that was one of the specialties at Blackwell. She laughs, “Wow, one flaw.” She rolls her eyes, playfully. “There’s more than one.” You chuckle, reaching a hand out to her, she takes it and always you to pull her off the counter. “To your room?” She asks, already leading you to it, “Of course.” You say, grabbing your camera and photo as you pass the table.  
Your head is against Rachel’s head, which is on your shoulder as you two watch Pirates of the Caribbean. You two had decided to watch it after a few minutes of hanging out in your room, you’re an hour into the movie by now. “Let's be like them.” Rachel suddenly says, you hum for her to elaborate and she does, “Let's be free, go wherever we want and do whatever we want.” You smile and nod, “Okay, Rachel, I like the sound of that.” Rachel gently moves, causing you to sit up as she faces you, “Just like?” She teases, you playfully roll your eyes, “I love the sound of it.” You admit in a whisper with a small smile. Your face heats up as you realize how close your faces are, Rachel has a devilish grin as her eyes glance between your eyes and your lips before she leans forward, pressing her lips against yours in an awkward yet sweet kiss- the first one either of you had ever had. Rachel’s hands reach up to cup your cheeks, your own going over hers. She pulls back a bit to smile at you before leaning back in. “Girls!” You two jump apart as the light flicks on. “I’m home.” Your dad sings as he walks into the living room. Your faces are flushed as you turn to your dad, “Uh, hey.” You smile sheepishly, he looks between the two of you, eyebrows flicking up before he smirks slightly. “Oh, sorry, just wanted to let you know that I’m here and about to make dinner. Chicken?” He asks, innocently. You nod and mumble out a “Sounds good.” As Rachel chuckles, “And macaroni?” She asks, your dad clicks his tongue and snaps his fingers, making finger guns, “You got it.” He whistles as he walks out the living room and to the kitchen. Rachel turns back to you, a smile wide on her face. “Wow.” She says, you feel your face heat up even more as you mirror her smile. “Yeah.” You bite your lip before deciding to lean in once again for a quick peck. Rachel places an arm over your shoulders as you both focus your attention back on the movie.  
Half an hour later, as you sit next to Rachel at the dinner table, your dad is across from the two, a knowing look on his face as he asks what the two of you did all afternoon, you shrug as Rachel smirks. “Not much, really.” You scrunch your face up at her before turning to your dad, “Rachel got into Blackwell.” You announce. Your dad’s attention focuses back onto Rachel, an impressed look overtaking his features. “We knew you would, Rach.” He winks, taking a sip from his cup. Rachel, shrug, a large smile appearing on her lips at the reminder of the news. “I’m so excited to go.” She gushes, you look over her, a dreamy expression on your face. “You’re gonna be great there.” You say, Rachel’s eyes flick over to you and her expression softens. “And you will too.” She says. Your dad chuckles. “You two are gonna cause a riot there.” He says, lighthearted. You stick your tongue out at him, he does the same to you. “Finish your dinner, did you guys do your homework?” Your dad changes the subject, eyebrows quirking up as he asks. You and Rachel groan, “Dad, it’s Saturday.” You pout, “Also, there’s only three weeks of school left.” Rachel adds. He chuckles and raises his hands in surrender. “If you get ahead then you don’t have to worry about it later.” He points out, Rachel and you nod in agreement. “Good study habits now are gonna be helpful at Blackwell, is all I’m saying.” He points a finger at you then Rachel then back to you. “We want good grades, okay?” You two chuckle and nod. “Yes sir.” Rachel salutes at the same time you say, “Yeah, dad.” You finish your food and are about to get up to leave when your dad speaks once more, “Is that all that happened today? Nothing else interesting?” He asks, knowingly. Your face flushes as you shake your head, “Nothing I can think of.” You say, a bit embarrassed. Rachel chuckles, “We kissed.” She pipes up. Your face grows even hotter as you look at her, lost for words. Rachel merely shrugs at you as your dad laughs. “I know, just wanted to see if you’d admit to it.” He waves you off, “Have fun, kiddos.” He calls after you as you both take your dishes to the kitchen. You snatch Rachel’s dishes and begin washing them, she leans against the counter, facing you. “What didn’t want me to tell him?” She asks, jokingly. You shrug, pretending to be upset, Rachel straightens up. “Hey, I didn’t mean to cross a line or anything.” She says, sounding worried. You turn to face her with a frown before you quickly lean forward and place a chaste kiss to her lips, chuckling at her startled demeanor. “I’m kidding Rachel, I just didn’t say anything because I wasn’t sure you wanted him to know.” You say, turning your attention back to the dishes your washing. Rachel rolls her eyes. “I’m pretty sure he saw us.” She says, laughing as she cups your chin and turns you to face her, bringing you in for another kiss. You kiss back, resisting the urge to smirk as you lift your soapy hands up, Rachel immediately grabs your wrists and pulls back a bit, “Don’t you dare.” She says with a laugh. You can’t help the smirk this time as you pat her cheeks, she tries to move but is just a second to slow as your fingers pat at her skin. “I hate you.” She laughs, you laugh along with her, finishing up the dishes and drying your hands on your pants. “Wanna finish the movie?” You ask, Rachel nods, looping an arm through yours as she leads you off to the living room.  
\-----  
The last few weeks of school fly by, kids whispering about you and Rachel once they saw you holding hands had only lasted the first few days then everyone continued about with their days. Now that it’s summer, you and Rachel are hardly ever apart- not that you spent much time apart during school. The main difference now was that your parents didn’t let you close the door when you spent the night together. “Rachel.” You whisper one night, she turns over onto her side to face you, you move onto your side as well. “What are we gonna do during the school year?” You ask, ever since you moved to Arcadia Bay, Rachel has been by your side, despite her being a grade ahead of you, you always met up whenever you could between classes. “Don’t worry, (Name).” She soothes, “Nothing can tear us apart.” She whispers. You reach down and grab her hand in yours. “Nothing.” You assert. She nods before she sits up and quietly climbs off the bed. “Rach?” You ask, confusion evident. She doesn’t answer, instead going to the side you’re on and taking your hand in hers. “Come on.” She says, you get up, not letting go of her hand and allow her to lead you over to the window. “We’re going up to the roof.” She says, your eyes widen. “Rach, what if you fall? What if I can’t catch you? I don’t want you to get hurt.” You immediately begin to worry, she shushes you. “I’ll be fine.” She reassures, opening the window and slipping out. You bite your lip and follow after her, accepting her extended hand as she helps you up. “See? Everything is fine.” She walks away from the edge and closer to the middle. “Your dad’s room is over there, right?” Rachel asks, not wanting to step over his room and risk waking him up. You nod, seeing the outline of her figure and vaguely making out where she was pointing. “Yeah, we can sit over here.” You carefully make your way over to her and lead her to a place to sit, over your hallway. “What are we doing out here, Rach?” Rachel’s arm goes around your shoulders, hugging you close, in return you wrap your arms around her waist. “I wanted to look at the stars with you.” She says, softly. You smile, placing a kiss on her shoulder that’s exposed due to her tank top. She chuckles softly and points up, “See that star?” She asks, you look up nod. “The North Star.” You say, she nods, confirming your statement. “The North Star is the only one that stays in the sky year-round.” She begins, lowering her arm, “That’s our promise star, as long as it’s up there, our promises won’t be broken.” You smile and look up at her, “Yeah?” You ask, she nods, “Of course, that star has guided people for hundreds- thousands of years, and now it’ll guide us to the life we want, together.” She places a kiss against your forehead. “Okay, Rach, I believe you. Our star.” You affirm. “I pointed it out because I’m promising you that nothing will ever come between us.” She says, her left hand finding yours and looping your pinkies together, “I promise.” She reiterates. “I promise.” You whisper, raising your hands between you two and placing a kiss to her knuckles, she smiles as she mirrors your actions. “Then we’re set.” She says as you rest your head against her shoulder, her head going atop yours. After sitting together in silence for a few minutes, you speak up, “Rachel, do you wanna go back inside?” You ask, yawning, she nods. “Yeah.” She says, sounding tired you both stand and walk back over to the edge near your window. As you approach the edge, however, Rachel slips and stumbles forward a bit, you immediately reach out, grab her hand and pull her close to you, wrapping both arms around her. Your heart is beating uncomfortably fast as Rachel chuckles sheepishly. “See, (Name)? Told ya I’d be fine, you can do anything.” She says, referring to your earlier fears of her falling and you being useless in helping. “Oh, shut up.” You sigh, not letting go of her hand as you get to the edge, helping her lower down first. You follow behind and as soon as you close the window and turn back to face Rachel, she wraps her arms around your waist, guiding you to the bed where she lays you both down. “Goodnight, (Name).” She says, pecking your nose, you giggle, pecking her chin. “Goodnight Rachel.”


	3. three

The year seemed to drag on without Rachel, but now as summer approached you could feel the weight of anxiety bearing down on you. What if you didn’t get into Blackwell? That’d be another year without Rachel, and if they denied you again you might just never be able to go to school with Rachel again. What then? You wanted to be with Rachel, always, she’s your best friend. You chew your bottom lip as you think, tapping the eraser of your pencil against the notebook you’re writing in. You cease tapping, turning your pencil back to write in the journal, copying down an equation from your math book, sighing as you erase it, realizing you had written the wrong one. You groan, slamming the book shut- you have plenty of time, it’s only Saturday- and instead leaving your room and going down the stairs. As you pass the front door, you stop, hearing a neighborhood dog barking, you check the clock on the wall, eyes widening as you see the time, 2:30. You immediately run outside, straight to your mailbox and snatch the mail out, looking through, your breath hitching in your throat as you see a letter from Blackwell. You walk back inside, to your kitchen, placing the mail on a counter. You trace the seal of the envelope, chewing the inside of your cheek, before you run upstairs to grab your keys and your backpack. Shoving your Polaroid into your backpack as you run back down and out your front door, locking it behind you. Running all the way to the bus stop, the wind blowing through your hair as a thin layer of sweat begins to cover your skin, you feel free. An excitement overcomes you and you think this is how Rachel must’ve felt a year prior as she ran to open her letter with you. You make it just as the bus driver closes the door, but once he sees you, he opens it once more, nodding towards you as you mumble a “Thanks,” and walk to an open seat. Trying to calm your breathing you look down at the letter clenched in your left hand, you smile despite the anxiety itching at your thoughts. This letter was all you needed to go to Blackwell, where your studies would shift to focus in the arts, just like you wanted. Theatre, art, photography, writing. You need to get into this school, no other school takes arts as seriously- some may argue they’re taken more seriously- as academics. And to experience it with Rachel, that would be a dream. Your thoughts are interrupted as the bus stops, you look up and jump up as you realize this is your stop, you run out, wanting to get to Rachel as soon as possible.  
You ring the doorbell twice before resorting to frantic knocking. “I’m coming!” Rachel’s mom shouts, you flinch as she opens the door. You offer a sheepish smile and apology. “Sorry, I’m just excited, where’s Rachel?” You ask, breathless, her mom raises an eyebrow at you, stepping aside to let you in, “Her room, why are you so excited? Do you need water, dear?” She asks, you hold up your letter to Blackwell, shaking your head and opening your mouth to speak but before you can, you hear Rachel’s voice from upstairs. “Who was that? They seemed hella desperate.” You smile over at Rachel’s mom, nodding to excuse yourself as you run over to the bottom of the stairs, “Desperate to see you.” You say with a smirk. Rachel’s face lights up as she runs down the stairs to you. “(Name)! What are you doing here?” She asks, coming to a stop right in front of you, your smirk becomes a wide smile as you hold your letter between your face and hers. “I got mail.” You say, her eyes widen as she smiles, excited. “Wait, I don’t have a camera.” She says, frowning a bit. You chuckle and pull yours out, “You’re hella predictable, Rachel.” You joke, she snatches the camera, ignoring your comment as she gets ready to take the picture of you. Before you can open the letter however, she stops you. “Let’s do this in the kitchen, like we’re recreating the one you have of me. While we’re there, we can get you water.” She smirks, grabbing your hand and leading you passed her mom who is still in the living room and into the kitchen a few feet away. Rachel grabs a cup, getting you water, “I can’t believe you ran here.” She says, handing you the drink. You shrug, “Guess you’re a bad influence.” You joke, chugging the water. She playfully scoffs, “That’s ridiculous.” You stick your tongue out at her as you place the cup down. “Okay, now.” Rachel says, enthusiastically as you rip the letter open and yank the paper out, reading the first line. “Congratulations! Your child, (FullName), has been accepted for September 2009 admission.” You’re distracted by a flash and turn to Rachel, a wide smile on both your faces as she shakes the photo and places it, and the camera, on the counter beside her, not bothering to look at it as she runs over to you. “You got in?” She asks, you nod. “I got in!” You confirm, wrapping your arms around her waist, hers going around your shoulders. “I’m so excited!” You say, tightening your hold on her. “I know, I am too! We’re gonna be living so close to each other.” Rachel bounces a bit as you two finally release one another. “You’re gonna love Blackwell, the people are kind of eh, but the place is cool and with you there, it’ll be hella better!” Rachel gushes. Your cheeks begin hurting from how widely you're smiling as you nod along to everything Rachel tells you, even though you’ve heard most of it before since she loved telling you about her school life. You ignore the worry that's welling up inside, you're scared, especially because Rachel already has a friend group and is definitely close enough to some people to make you jealous. “What's wrong?” You shake your head at Rachel's concern and pat her arm, “Guess I'm just kinda nervous.” You say, Rachel laughs. “Don't be, you're gonna be a Blackwell star.” She pinches your cheek and takes your hand, leading you up to her room.  
“Not that one.” You frown as you look up at Rachel’s voice, “Well, why not?” You ask, causing her to roll her eyes. “Because you should have more of a variety and you already have four other lighthouse pictures.” You smirk at her, standing up from her floor and walking over to kneel by the edge of the bed where she’s laying. “Oh? I wonder why I love that place so much.” You playfully pinch her nose. Rachel laughs and swats at your hand, scratching the side of her neck, sheepishly. “Aw babe don’t talk about that here. What if my mom hears?” She smirks as your eyes widen. “Rachel Dawn Amber don’t you dare act like we’ve had sex there!” You whisper-shout at her, cheeks heating up. Rachel bursts into laughter, flipping over onto her back. “That’d be hot, but say it a little louder, maybe then my mom will trust us alone together.” She winks at you. You chuckle and lean in to peck her lips. As your lips connect, the door flies open. You, in turn, jerk back so fast that you lose your balance and fall onto your back, smiling sheepishly at the annoyed look Rose is giving you two. “Pretty sure the rule is the door stays open.” She gives Rachel a pointed look to which Rachel responds with a shrug, “Sorry, I was helping her put together a portfolio.” Rose shakes her head, “Dinner will be ready in half an hour, would you like to come set the table?” She asks. “We’d love to help.” You chime in, Rachel scoffs as Rose nods and walks out, leaving the door halfway closed as she goes. “Oh, only half open, eventually she’ll let us close it again.” You joke. “Shut up, nerd. We have to go set the table now.” Rachel sighs, rolling out of bed and walking over to you. She holds a hand out to you that you eagerly take, she easily helps you up and you two walk downstairs, hand in hand.  
“Get three plates, your father’s working late tonight.” Rose instructs as you two walk into the kitchen, “Yes ma’am.” You salute, going to lead Rachel to the cabinet but she stays still. You turn to her and the frown on her face causes you to frown as well. “Again? Why?” She asks, causing Rose to sigh as she shrugs. “Because he’s the district attorney and has to finish up a case.” Rose smiles tightly, giving Rachel a look to indicate that they would continue this conversation later, probably after you left. You place a hand on Rachel’s shoulder and lean in close to her ear, “Babe, s’okay, let’s go get the dishes.” You soothe, grabbing her hand, she scoffs, yanking her hand away and storming up to her room. You smile apologetically at Rose, “I’ll set the table, real quick.” You say, scurrying off to the cabinets, Rose sighs and nods, “Thanks, sweetie, sorry you had to witness that. Her father has been working a lot more, lately.” She vaguely explains you nod as you grab the plates and begin placing them, “It’s okay, I know how Rachel gets.” You shrug and pull out the silverware as well, placing it.  
Once the dishes are all placed, you quickly walk back up to Rachel’s room. You knock on her door, softly, not wanting to annoy her. “What, (Name)?” She groans, you poke your head in to see her laying on her bed, on her stomach, staring down at her floor with a frown. “Are you okay?” You ask, you know she’s gonna say no but you don’t know what else to ask. “How can I be okay when my dad is never home anymore? He’s probably having an affair.” You frown and rush into the room, softly closing the door behind you and kneeling by her side, “I’m sure that isn’t true.” You offer, flinching slightly as she jumps up and begins to yell. “How would you know?” She scoffs, sitting up, “He’s been so secluded, he doesn’t come home and when he does he doesn’t stick around.” She flails her arms around and once she finishes speaking, she rests them on her knees, sucking in her bottom lip. “Rach, I’m sorry, I know it’s hard but maybe you should talk to him, he’s your dad and he loves you.” You smile, meekly, and Rachel rolls her eyes, scoffing. “Whatever, I wanna be alone right now.” She lays back down, this time staring up at the roof and you frown, “Rachel.” You sigh, “No, (Name)!” She shouts, quickly sitting up and throwing her arm out towards you. Much to your surprise, you fly back until you hit the wall a few feet away, when your back collides against the wall, you slide down, shock and confusion overtaking you. Rachel’s eyes widen as she rushes to your side, all the anger and aggression that was formerly on her features is gone now as she examines you. “Are you alright? I’m so sorry, I just got so mad.” She rambles, placing her hands on your shoulders. You look up at her, eyebrows furrowed. “What the fuck was that?” You ask in a whisper, she frowns and shrugs, “I’m not sure really, when I get mad it happens sometimes.” She admits. You nod, placing a hand on one of hers, “Okay, uh,” You look down at the ground, trying to process this. “What the hell do I do with this information?” You ask. Rachel sighs. “I know it’s weird. I’m a freak, but I, I can’t help it.” Desperation laces her words and you look back up into her hazel eyes which are clouded with fear. “No, I mean, it’s not your fault, I’m just shocked.” You smile softly, moving your hand from the top of her hand to her cheek. “It’s okay. We'll figure this out.” You soothe, Rachel shakes her head. “There's nothing to figure out, it's just a power I have, controlling elements.” She shrugs. You purse your lips together and nod slowly, it’s not like you can accuse her of lying, she just threw you across her room and that was proof enough for you. “How long have you been able to do this?” You ask. “I don’t know, a while.” She shrugs. “All elements?” You're curious about her ability and hoping to find out more but when Rachel stands up and walks over to her bed, you know she's done talking and that you can no longer ask questions. She sits down, placing her hands on her knees, looking down at the ground, before speaking up, “So?” She asks, your eyebrows flick up. “Yeah?” You ask, she rolls her eyes, “Are you gonna leave? Cause I’m a freak?” She snaps, you frown and shake your head, hopping up and scurrying over to her. “No! Of course not, Rach. I’d never leave you.” You say, earnestly. There’s a few seconds of silence, you open your mouth to reassure her once more. “Maybe you should go.” She speaks first, not looking at you. “Rachel.” You sigh but she shakes her head and stands up, angrily. “Leave! I want to be alone right now, okay? Geez.” She walks off to her window and gazes out, ignoring you. You huff and storm off, flinging the door open and shutting it behind you before you storm down to the living room where you see Rose just getting off the phone. “(Name)? Is everything alright?” She asks, you offer a small smile and nod. “Uh, yeah, Rachel just needs a minute.” You mumble, sitting on the couch, placing your elbows on your knees and burying your face in your hands. Rose sighs, mumbling something under her breath as she walks off and into the kitchen a few feet away.  
“Dinner!” You had been staring at the ground, but your gaze flicks up to the kitchen as Rose’s voice fills the room. You stand from the couch and walk to the stairs, “I’ll get Rachel.” You call out in response, going up before Rose can answer. You knock a few times before opening the door slightly, “Rachel, dinner.” You say, she’s sitting at her computer and turns to look at you, eyebrows flicking up as she sees you. “Oh. You stayed.” She mumbles, you scrunch your face, “Yeah, I wasn’t gonna leave.” You respond. Rachel gets up and walks over to you, a frown on her face. “I didn’t mean to hurt you.” She whispers, you smile softly, placing a hand on her shoulder. “You didn’t.” You lower your hand from her shoulder to her hand, lacing your fingers together. “Let’s go eat.” You smile, Rachel returns the smile, leaning down to peck your cheek, hurrying ahead of you to drag you down to the living room. “Rach, wait, we have to wash our hands.” You chuckle as she tugs on your hand in an attempt to speed you up.

\----

You smile as you look out the window of the car, “Rach, I might throw up.” You say, partially joking, partially serious. You look over at the girl as you feel her hand on your shoulder, a smile on her face. “Don’t be nervous, he’s gonna love you.” You chuckle at Rachel’s words, shaking your head. “I don’t care if he loves me, I care about his opinion of my photos.” You admit, “I mean, I don’t want him to hate me or anything but like I said, that’s not the focus here.” You add, tapping her nose. Rachel rolls her eyes, playfully, “Okay, whatever, he’ll love you and your work, guaranteed. You’re hella talented.” She reassures, reaching her hand out to pinch your cheek. You smile, reaching up and taking her hand in yours, “Thanks for coming with me today.” You say, she smiles softly, “There’s nowhere I’d rather be.” She shrugs slightly. You lean over, pecking her lips but as you go to pull away, she places a hand on the back of your neck pulling you forward once more. “Woah guys, keep it pg.” Your dad laughs from the front seat, causing you to pull away from Rachel. “We're here.” He adds. You glance out the window, taking in a deep breath as you remove your seat belt. “Ready?” Rachel asks, and you nod. “Ready as I'll ever be.” You admit with a small smirk. The three of you exit the car, your dad scurrying off ahead to get a table as you take a moment to compose yourself. Rachel takes your hand, her smile instantly soothing you. “Let's go.” She says. “Together.” She adds, reassuringly. “Together.” You reaffirm with a nod and a small, anxious smile.  
You anxiously pick at your nails as you stare at Rachel from across your room. She has a dreamy look plastered on her features as she pulls up a website with information about Mark Jefferson. “He’s kind of a big deal, huh?” She asks, you don’t answer but you think that even if you did, she would’ve ignored you. “No wonder that Victoria girl was obsessed.” She adds, looking through pictures of him at different exhibits and events he’s been to and hosted. “Rachel, I don’t like that you two were flirting.” You blurt, instantly regretting it, knowing what you just said was going to inevitably start a fight. Rachel glances over at you, rolling her eyes. “Wasn’t flirting, I was being charismatic, it worked, right? He said I’d make a great model and he liked your photos!” She turns her attention back to the computer. “No, actually he liked the ones of you.” You point out, opening your portfolio and pulling out the four pictures that had her as the focal point, you toss them in front of her. “So? That’s because he thinks I have a future in modelling, he was complimenting both of us.” Rachel scoffs, brushing the photos aside, causing them to fall to the floor, and causing your frown to deepen. “Rachel,” She finally moves her attention from the computer, jumping up and throwing her hands up in exasperation, “What? You’re mad because I bat my eyelashes and smiled at some guy? I’m not apologizing if that’s what you’re looking for.” She crosses her arms over her chest and this time your frown turns into a glare. “You’re kidding me, right? We’re dating! You can’t do shit like that and then get pissed when I don’t like it.” Rachel groans, “You’re overreacting, is what it is.” You throw your hands up, “How am I overreacting?” “Because it’s not like I was trying to fuck him.” She snaps, you scoff, “Cheating isn’t just fucking someone else and the way you were acting, you probably wouldn’t turn down the opportunity to fuck him.” She glares at you, “Fuck off. I’m done.” She stands and turns to leave, you get up and walk over to her, grabbing her wrist. “Rachel, wait.” Rachel yanks her arm out of your grasp and in a swift movement, raises her hand, causing you to fly back. You hit the wall, a few inches from the bed, groaning. Rachel screeches, her hands flying to her hair as she roughly pulls at it. “See what you made me do? Leave me alone!” She yells, your eyes widen as small flames form around her, causing you to quickly jump up and stomp the one on the floor out as Rachel brushes away the few that were on her. She sniffles as she shakes her head, “You’re just so unbelievable sometimes.” She states, turning and leaving your room. You debate whether or not you should follow her, you didn’t want to keep fighting but you also didn’t want her to think you were just giving up because you didn’t care. You feel guilty as you walk towards the door, itching to go after her, but you don’t. You know Rachel wants to be alone and following her will do more bad than good so instead you suck it up and turn the other way, glaring at your computer screen and the images of Mark Jefferson it projects. You storm over, angrily exiting out of the pages she had open of him and sigh, throwing yourself onto your bed, you so badly want to go after her, maybe if you went after her now- since she’s had a bit of a head start- she’d be calmer when you caught up to her? You shake your head, running a hand through your hair. “Why didn’t I just keep my mouth shut?” You ask yourself, this wasn’t the first fight you and Rachel had, and if you thought about it, she always made it seem as if you were the one to cause them and because you love her, you don’t mind agreeing. You also don’t mind being the one to apologize and take the blame, agreeing that you’re in the wrong. But, if you thought long and hard, you could find yourself realizing that it wasn’t always your fault, and that in fact, a lot of times it was her fault. When she kissed that boy at a party because someone dared her to, it wasn’t your fault and you had the right to be mad. You stop your thoughts, not wanting any reason to be angrier with her, and why bring up the past? You bite your lip, looking at your phone. No call, no text, nothing. Not that you were surprised, Rachel was never the first to reach out after a fight, and the thought of this causes you to get angrier. No, it wasn’t right that she was so defensive when she was flirting with an older man, she kissed that boy at that party, she made out with that girl to get a free bottle of wine that you didn’t even want despite her saying otherwise. Your blood is boiling once again and this anger is what fuels you to march downstairs and to your father, demanding a ride to go see Rachel. “Is everything alright?” He asks, brows knitting together in confusion. “I need to talk to her.” You say, not wanting to lose your nerve, you rush out to the car, he follows behind you, concerned. “Honey, what happened?” He asks, this is what sets you off. “She got mad at me! She said I shouldn’t be mad that she was friendly with some guy, but I have the right to get mad when she throws herself at someone!” You rant, your father smiles slightly, “It’s okay to get jealous.” He says, you shake your head. “No. It’s not that, you don’t get it.” You sigh. The rest of the ride is relatively quiet aside from the music playing, but you ignore it. You keep repeating to yourself everything Rachel has done to upset you and when you get to the lighthouse, you rush out, knowing that’s where she goes after you two fight. You march up the trail and find her leaning against the lighthouse, her calm composure immediately changes at the sight of you as she jumps up with a glare. “What?” She snaps, you frown. “I’m not done talking to you, you can’t just run off every time something doesn’t go your way!” You say. Rachel scoffs, “I wanted to calm down, so we wouldn’t say or do anything we regret, but you always want to fight don’t you?” She takes a step forward, you open your mouth to respond but she continues, “I can’t keep doing this if all you ever want to do is fight! It isn’t fair to you or to me! I’m sick of it, this is over!” She shouts. Your anger immediately melts away and is replaced by fear and hurt, “What?” You ask, wanting confirmation for what you think she’s just said. “We’re done.” She enunciates, rolling her eyes. “Now leave me alone.” She walks away, passed you and leaves you alone. You want to follow her and once again you don’t, but this time it’s because you can’t, you feel weak and are pretty sure that if you move, your knees will give out. “Rach?” You whisper to yourself, but you know she won’t answer, you know she’s gone.


	4. four

A relieved sigh escapes your lips as you glance around your newly decorated dorm room, it had taken a few hours, but you’re definitely satisfied with the way it turned out. You walk over to your freshly made bed and grab your phone that’s resting atop it, unlocking it and going to your contacts to call Rachel, “Hello?” She greets. “Hey, Rach.” You answer, “I just finished my room, wanna hang out?” You ask. There’s a moment's pause before she answers, “Yeah, sure, I’m in my room, just come over.” She directs, you agree before hanging up and putting your phone in your pocket. Nothing really changed after Rachel dumped you, you got back together for a week, but she got angry again and ended things quickly. Currently, the two of you were just friends and you were fine with it, because you both agreed that the only difference when you’re dating and when you’re not is the kisses and whatnot. You hum as you grab your key, putting it in your pocket and locking the door as you exit. You nod at a few girls as you make your way to Rachel’s room, knocking as you get to the door. “Come in.” Rachel chimes from the other side. You walk in, offering a wave as you close the door behind you, “Nice room.” You compliment, looking around. Rachel nods, mumbling a thanks as she turns to face you, “Want me to show you around or do you want to leave that for later?” She asks, you shrug, going to sit on her bed. “Doesn’t matter to me.” She hums, looking around. “There’s gonna be a party tomorrow, we’re going to that, so you can meet people then.” She drums her hands against her sides before she stops, snapping her fingers, “I got it.” She says, an excited smile making it way to her pink lips, “We'll go check out the theater department, we have a show twice a year, this year we're doing Beauty and the Beast and Death of a Salesman.” Rachel claps her hands, bouncing slightly as you jump up. “Are you serious? I would kill to make those costumes!” You gush, Rachel reaches over and grabs your hand, causing your heart to skip a beat. That was nothing new, “Come on, I’ll introduce you to Mr. Keaton, he’s our drama teacher here at Blackwell.” She says, dragging you out of her room and down the hallway, almost running into a few girls as she eagerly weaves through them and outside. Trying to keep up with her proves to be a struggle as you trip, falling onto her. Rachel only stumbles, keeping her balance and releasing your hand to reach behind and hold you, making sure to keep you steady. Her hands on your hips as she laughs, she lets you go and turns to face you, now placing her hands onto your shoulders, “You alright?” She giggles, causing your cheeks to heat up as you offer a sheepish smile, “Yeah, just couldn’t keep up.” You shrug, she drops her hands, “I’m just excited, let’s go.” She motions for you to follow her and you do. The walk there is short with your thoughts distracting you, all centered around Rachel, if you reach out a bit, you can grab her hand. The familiar feeling of her warmth tempting, luckily before you can act on your urge you enter a building and almost immediately a room where a man is informing a girl how many copies she’ll have to make of each paper he’s given her, she nods as she takes notes, paying close attention to his words. “Mr. Keaton.” Rachel calls out, causing the man to whirl around, a smile immediately etching onto his features, “Rachel!” He sighs, a fond tone replacing the previous professional one he had been using for the girl- who had walked off when he turned to Rachel. “What can I do for you, my darling?” He asks, clasping his hands together, setting his index fingers straight and resting them against his lips. “I wanted to introduce (Name), she’s new this year and is going to be in your class.” She steps aside and gestures to you as if you were a display. Mr. Keaton looks you up and down, nodding as he does so and smiles gently. “Do you have intentions of participating in the play?” He asks, you nod. “I’m really excited to work on the play, Rachel has told me great things about the theatre department here.” You say, his smile brightens, and he nods, “Of course it has improved since Rachel has been here, rarely do we get such talent!” He gushes. You smile softly, of course you aren’t surprised, there isn’t much Rachel can’t do, you’re pretty sure she’s perfect. “And she has spoken very highly of you, so we are very excited to see what you can do!” Your smile is replaced with a look of surprise, you didn’t know Rachel had talked about you, “I hope I exceed your expectations.” You say with a small shrug and meek smile. Mr. Keaton places his hands on your shoulders, causing you to look up at him, “What, I wonder, is your view on Romeo and Juliet?” He asks, you shrug, “Should two people choose to throw away their lives, they have that right, it’s kinda stupid of them but people would do anything for love.” You sigh, eyes flickering to Rachel who is staring at Mr. Keaton, wanting to see his reaction. “You, my dear, are very promising.” Your gaze snaps back to him and see he has a soft smile; your cheeks heat up as you realize he saw you staring at your Rachel. Your cheeks heat up even more at the thought, My friend, Rachel. Not my Rachel. You correct yourself. Mr. Keaton chuckles, patting your shoulder, “I am very excited to welcome you to Blackwell and to our drama class.” He says, Rachel closes the distance between her and you two by taking a few steps and has an eager smile, “Maybe she can help out with Beauty and the Beast.” She wiggles her eyebrows at the teacher as he smiles, flicking his gaze between the two of you, “Auditions are the tenth week of school, we’ll see how she does.” He winks and nods, waving you two away as he turns and sighs, “Where is that girl?” you hear his fleeting mumbles as Rachel drags you out of the room, “Always good to suck up to the teacher if you want the advantage.” Rachel says, matter of factly. “Advantage in what?” You ask, “Everything!” She cheers, you roll your eyes but can’t help but smile at her excitement. “I can show you around now if you’d like.” She offers, turning to face you, her hazel eyes sparkling. “I would love that.” You whisper sweetly, her face softens, and she nods, once again taking your hand as she begins to lead you through the school, showing you where your classes are.  
It’d be a lie to say you remember where all of your classes are, though you would never admit that the reason for that is because you couldn’t keep your attention off Rachel, you really had believed you were over her but if you really thought about it, you couldn’t fully get over her. The curve of her lips always made you slip back into her grasp. “And that’ll be your photography class, I’m not sure who the teacher will be, I don’t take pictures.” Rachel says, and you smirk, “Because you’re a model.” Your heart skips a beat as Rachel’s cheeks turn a shade of pink so light that for a moment you think you’ve imagined it. “We all have different gifts.” She shrugs and begins to lead you back out of the school and presumably back towards the dorms. You speed up a bit, so you are now in front of her and you turn around, walking backwards so you can make eye contact as you speak. “Rach, do you think today we could-” Your words are cut off as you bump into someone, knocking them down. Immediately, you swivel around, guilt overtaking you as you bend slightly and hold your hand out, hovering it over his shoulder, “I am so sorry! I should’ve watched where I was going! I was just trying to talk to my friend and I was distracted.” You ramble, frowning down at the boy you had run into, he landed on his knees and was not getting up. “You’ve gotta be fucking kidding me!” He jumps up to his feet as he shouts before he turns to face you with a menacing glare that cause you to flinch a bit as he spews out aggressive words, “What’s your,” His glare melts into a look of surprise and slight confusion, he doesn’t finish his question causing you to purse your lips together wondering why he would be looking at you that way, “Are you okay?” He doesn’t speak, confusing you even more until you turn your head slightly and see Rachel is right behind you. It dawns on you then; the boy isn’t speechless because he saw you.  
He’s speechless because he saw Rachel.  
Your eyes narrow slightly as you cough, “Uh, I’m (Name) and this is Rachel.” You introduce, unsure of what else to do. He opens his mouth to speak but no words come out and he instead shuts his mouth, turning and hastily walking away. You feel something heavy in your chest and you recognize the feeling- jealousy. But is it because he wasn’t paying attention to me or because I don’t want anyone to take Rachel from me? The thought surprises you, of course you were jealous because you love Rachel, but why aren’t you confident in that? “(Name)!” You jump a bit as Rachel shakes you, “Ya zoned out.” She chuckles, “Let’s go have a movie night.” She offers, you smile at her and nod, motioning for her to lead the way.  
But your heart doesn’t flutter when she takes your hand to guide you.


End file.
